The Ultimate Truth
by Wakami Homika
Summary: What if the Investigation Team was wrong? Yu Narakami came back to Inaba to clear up his doubt. Adachi was also released due to lack of evidence. The story happened after the game's plot, including the truth ending, so there were spoilers alert. I am still currently writing, but I will rate T just in case. Please read and review! (There might be hints between Souji/Tohru)
1. Return to Innocence

**Author: Hey guys! This is my first time writing a fanfiction. I really need your reviews. Forgive me for my grammar since I am not an English native speaker. However, it is welcomed to fix my errors. I know I still have a lot to improve. Hope you enjoy!**

It had been almost four months since you came back home. After successfully persuading your parents, you decided to finish your final year at Yasogami high school. Your reasons were "Good Friends and better environment". However, there was one bigger thought that irritated you. You chose not to tell due to your lack of expression. Besides, even if you did tell them, you knew they would not understand. Even you could not comprehend the thought.

You arrived at the gas station. Unlike last time, your friends came to pick you up. Yosuke could not hide his excitement (as usual) when he saw you:

"Dude, Welcome back! We thought you would leave forever."

Chie punched your shoulder really hard. She also looked happy. Yukiko just smiled. Both Kanji and Naoto were busy at the moment, so they decided to meet everyone later at Junes. Nanako was standing next to Teddy, kept saying "big bro". Teddy still put on his bear costume, which made you feel a lot more comfortable. Your little sister was as cute as usual. Your uncle, Dojima, could not come. Ever since he lost his subordinate, he had to do extra work.

"Now that you mention that guy", Yosuke did not even try to hide his anger. "We did not have enough evidence, so he was released after you left".

You pretended that you have just known the news. Meanwhile, Chie glared at Yosuke:

"Come on! Today is a good day. Why do we have to mention bad stuffs? Let's talk about that later!"

Everybody agreed, then headed to the old Headquarter. You spent whole day talking with them, thus your social link slightly increased. It had been a long time since you felt a sudden energy flowing into your soul. Nevertheless, this was not the main reason you came back to this town. You wanted to talk to your uncle.

Dojima went home late, as usual, but you were willing to wait. Nanako had gone to sleep early. Your uncle was very surprised to see you were still awake. He scolded you (just because that was his habit), then started eating his dinner. After checking your status, you were brave enough to interrupt his starving stomach.

"Adachi?". Your uncle sounds unpleasant. "Why do you want to ask about that guy?"

You did not want to tell Dojima about your doubt. Instead, you simply stated that friendship insisted you to gain little information about this old friend. Dojima gave you an uncertain glare. In the end, he gave up and sighed:

"You are still as nosy as ever. I still do not believe that is your final answer though, since you always hide something from me….Alright, I will give you his address. But, I do not want you to hang out with that guy too much. Now let me enjoy my dinner!"

After receiving the address, you went back to your room. You decided to pay a visit.

School was as bored as ever when you already mastered your knowledge. Yosuke showed his deepest appreciation of your coming back, since you always secretly gave him the correct answers in class. You had to admit that your best dude was not very bright (to be honest, except for Naoto, the Inverstigation team were also…). Actually, he never paid attention to the lessons. He preferred to look at pretty girls in class instead, only to receive many angry stares, including Chie and Yukiko. Playing as a silent protagonist, you chose not to warn him about the incoming danger. As long as your friend happy (you guess).

You immediately packed all your stuffs in the bag and left as the bell rang. Just in case something happened, you told Yosuke about coming to Adachi's house. You soon realized that was not a very wise option. Obviously, your friend was shocked.

"Dude, seriously? Why are you even considered to meet that bastard?"

You hesitated for a moment, thinking whether to tell your friend the truth. You did not have to wait too long until the guy snapped your response.

"Don't! J-Just do not say anything!", Yosuke pissed off. "After what he did to Saki-senpai…"

At this point, you truly regretted not having enough expression to calm your friend down. Despite his anger, you know he would not tell anyone about this as long as you insisted. You knew you were right. Yosuke looked disappointed, he did not even bother to ask you for the reason.

"Just do what you want." He muttered.

You were currently standing in front of Adachi's house. You easily recognized the place when you looked at the pot on the balcony. You believed the things in the pot were cabbages. To make sure you came to the right place, you had also checked the name labeled at the gate. You rang the bell, hoping someone would reply. As patient as your were, one hour was wasted waiting outside the guy's house. Maybe Adachi-san was still at work, or he just did not want to welcome you inside. It was 6 o'clock, so you decided to go home.

Dojima was already at home today. Nanako was super happy, you noticed. The three of you spent a quite pleasant dinner without being disturbed by phone calls. However, you felt that Dojima-san was acting a little bit taciturn ever since he worked alone. It might only because of his stress at work. You cannot help being worried for your relative. After the meal, you washed the dishes with Nanako, then headed to work at the hospital. There was nothing much to do at home when you already studied well. You finished your shift at 10 o'clock, then decided to buy some snacks at a convenient store. That was when you saw a familiar figure. He had not seen you yet. You chose not to neglect this opportunity and called his name.

"Adachi-san!"


	2. All I Have To Do Is Dream

**Author: This is my second chapter! I just realize I forget to mention Rise. I will try to put her in the story somewhere…. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!**

All I Have To Do Is Dream

The man startled and took a silent time before turning his back. You could clearly see his face was indifferent for a few seconds ago. Then he managed to pull out his old innocent smile.

"Yu-kun. I did not know you had come back to Inaba. So…"

He purposely elongated the later sentence.

"I believe we do not have enough common interests to continue this conversation?"

Adachi's face returned to be emotionless. To be honest, you did not sure how to response toward this psychopath. On the other hand, you knew your relationship with Adachi was high enough for the guy to show little care for you.

"I just wanted to talk". You tried to look as friendly as possible.

"About what?". He lowered his voice. "Murders?". At that time, he gave you a very creepy smile.

There was no one in the convenient store right now. You felt extremely insecure. Then again, the older guy had promised not to kill anyone after that final battle. Just as you were expected, Adachi could not keep that smiling for too long.

"Look, kiddo". He seemed rather tired. "I am already really bored of this world every freaking day I wake up." Then he muttered something about the media (you could hear the guy cursed). "I do not need any other source of trouble".

You took a closer look at Adachi. You believed the guy was not in his best state. You also noticed the way he stood. Something had happened. However, you could not point out what was wrong. He still wore that suit and there were no noticeable injuries. Then, you looked at his plastic bags bought from the convenient store.

"Instant noodles?". The bags were filled with instant noodles. You seemed deeply concerned. "Why don't you cook something properly?"

"Why even bother, Yu-kun?". Adachi did not answer your question. "After all, we are enemies. Why even bother…?"

The last sentence was more similar to a monologue. This time, he did not wait for your response. The guy left the store. You decided to continue the conversation the other day. As disturbed as the way Adachi felt about you, you sensed an increasing amount of energy in this social link.

The next day you came to school, you wanted to spend your prepared bento with Yosuke.

"This is so good!". Yosuke almost shouted as he ate your food. "You do not know how much I miss your food, partner. Especially all I have are Chie and Yukiko's bentos".

This reminded you of the camping trip. You did not want to experience that again. Your best friend completely forgot about the conversation yesterday (he seemed so). You decided not to mention about Adachi with him again. Instead, you went to find Teddy, who currently worked part time job at Junes.

"You did not need to know about this, Narakami-sensei…". Teddy looked at you, questioning. "But, Junes does not allow Adachi-san to buy things a while ago. I believed it was Yosuke's idea."

That explained why Adachi could not buy proper food, since Junes' system covered almost the entire Inaba food court and supermarket. The convenient store yesterday was one of the few stores that did not belong to Junes. You understood your friend's action although you did not entirely agree. After asking Teddy, you spent your afternoon with the bear, then went home.

It was raining heavily when you barely reached the door. Dojima did not come home tonight, so you played with Nanako until she went to sleep. From that point on, you were left in boredom. You lied on your bed, deep in your thoughts. You felt very wrong about something that you could not explain. It was not about Adachi's release for not having enough evidence. The case was solved. You even found out the mastermind, Izanami and won against her. Still, you cannot help but feel that you had missed something. Something seemed…unfair. Maybe you had been played by a jester. These thoughts kept you awake. You decided to watch TV to lure yourself to sleep. What you did not expect was a familiar scenario. You saw a shadow on TV. You realized this was the Midnight Channel. The shadow only stood in silence. You certainly knew this person, even though you could not see him clearly. It seemed that Inaba had not had many popular people ever since that incident.

You had a dream that night. There was a shadow standing in front of you. Despite not seeing his face, you knew who he was. Or so you thought.

"Yu-kun, the main character of this whole world". The man said mockingly. "Everybody loves you, praises you everywhere you go. You always get the things you want. What a lucky brat!" The guy could not hide his envy towards you. "Well it is just because not many people know the real you though…." He sneered.

"I need the truth, Adachi-san". You interrupted the guy's speech, which made him angry.

"Someone has to learn to respect the elder!" He yelled at you. "Then again, who cares whether you are being polite or not?"

"I need the truth, Adachi-san". You repeated your sentence.

"Always act like you know everything, Yu-kun". The guy dodged your question, again. "Let me tell you one thing: wrong time - wrong demand".

"You did not kill those people, did you?"

"There, checkmate! And I thought you would never bring that topic again!" The man stomped his feet really hard. He looked absolutely furious.

"I am sorry."

Your short reply brought a silent atmosphere. The shadow slightly tilted his head, then grinned. You could see his white teeth out of the black figure.

"For what?" His smile had gotten deeper.

You knew he knew the answer. The shadow backed off little by little. Just when he almost disappeared into the black background, the guy spoke:

"It is all about trust issue, Yu-kun. You blew your chance."

Dream ended.


	3. Sending In The Clowns

**Author: Ok, guys! Rise has been put in the story. I cannot believe I keep forget she is also a member of the team! My plot is still so random and although I have predicted an ending, I'm currently stucking in the middle. It would be great if you guys could give me some comments about the story so far. Thanks for reading anyway and please enjoy! \\(^v^)/**

 _Sending In The Clowns_

Rise came back to school today. You already heard from the Investigation team about her previous travel. It seemed that the manager really wanted her to perform for the last time. Rise only accepted to go because the location was one of her beloved places. You did not pay full attention in the story at that time, since idols were not your favorite subject. Furthermore, you did not want to get involved in her life too much. The same went to Chie and Yukiko. Your relationship with the girls had been quite awkward since you noticed their attraction towards you. You did not want their friendship went berserk, so you rather stay neutral. Besides, you realized you were not interested in them beyond friendship. Yosuke usually gave you a "seriously, dude, why not all of them?" look. You chose to ignore. Kanji would rather take the situation on a whole new level.

"Senpai, are you sure you do not swing that way?"

Again, you chose to ignore.

Rise was extremely overjoyed when she saw you. She tried to hang out with you as much as she could. Therefore, you found it impossible to gather more information about Adachi. You really wanted to tell the team about your doubt. However, with everyone's current judgment, you did not believe they would listen to you until you had your logical thoughts sorted out.

You spent another night alone with Nanako. She showed you some old tricks you taught her. It had been a very pleasant night.

"Dad has been a great dad recently". Nanako said. "Besides from the shifts he has to take in some particular day, dad has stopped staying up late".

You knew what your uncle did at nights. After maxing your social link with Dojima, he told you about the death of his wife. He had taken plenty of time to find out who was responsible for that horrible traffic accident. You were certain that he had not found out the culprit when you left Inaba four months ago. Did he figure it out? You could not help but feel curious. You decided to talk to him about it later on. Since there was only Nanako at home, you did not want to go to work and leave her alone. Moreover, it was raining today. You instinctively turned on the Midnight Channel when the time came. The same man appeared. You had a bad feeling about this.

In order to talked to Dojima, the next three days were wasted just to gained more expression. It was already Sunday. The Investigation Team intended to go to the amusement park with Nanako. You did not want to miss the opportunity to be closer to your friends. Chie asked the group to ride a roller coaster first. Naoto had not played any extreme game before, so she seemed to be curious. Teddy jumped around showing his interest. Kanji was fine with the idea. Yukiko, Rise and Nanako also agreed.

"Guys, Why don't we start with something… lighter?". Yosuke certainly did not enjoy this.

However, you could see that no one really thought his opinion was important. The girls looked at you with pleading eyes. Although you inclined to follow Yosuke's suggestion, you could not say no to the majority of girls. Well, how bad could it be?

…

"Dude…, how could your face remain calm the entire trip?". Yosuke looked very sick. His eyes were still filled with dismay.

The rest of the team were ready for a new game. You decided to take care of Yosuke while the others played. Then you realized you did not have to, since your best friend only spent his time in the bathroom vomited. The amusement park was too big to find your friends, so you had no choice but to sit on a random chair waiting for them to come back. You felt tired. To be honest, that roller coaster made you feel horrible, too. You were being upside down all the time, not to mention how high it was. Fortunately, your blank face had saved you some respect from the team. You believed this experience had gained you a large amount of courage.

As time was passing meaninglessly, you took a look at the surroundings. A man selling balloons suddenly caught your attention. He was wearing a lousy clown costume with a bunny hat. You could tell the person creating this costume did not put a lot of effort in his/her job. The decoration was so random (in a bad way) and dirty. Those rabbit ears were dislocated. And the guy's face would definitely bring you nightmares. The only things being noticeable on his mixed color face were his big red smile and the black area around his eyes. With that kind of appearance, you were certain that he did not get many customers. Having nothing else to do, you felt that you should buy balloons for Nanako and everyone. You came to the man, only to realized there were eight balloons available. Enough for everyone, except for you. But you did not mind. The man did not speak, just smiled. You assumed that the man was mute. He gave you the balloons with a proper price. Just when you were about to leave, he pulled your shirt and made a "wait" sign. He blown a new balloon, then pointed at you.

"Is this for me?"

The man nodded. This one was for free. You left after showing your appreciation to him. You did not recognize how he knew the number of members in your group. There was also a familiar feeling running through your soul, but you overlooked it. After Yosuke felt better, you guys spent most of the time walking around before meeting the rest of the group. You gave each of your friend a balloon. Nanako was overly satisfied with your "small present". You kept in mind that you should take her out more frequently.

"I cannot believe this! I have come to the amusement park just to be knocked out and come home with a balloon. There were so many pretty ladies around and all I did was spending time in a bathroom!"

Yosuke started complaining. It seemed your friend was almost cry in despair. Meanwhile, Chie was pleased to see him in distress.

"You should appreciate what you have, Yosuke. Anyway, it was a great day for me."

The group agreed. You could not help but feel slightly sorry for your bro.

You came home with Nanako. She hanged the balloons near a shelf under the calendar. Dojima already told you that he came home late. After Nanako went to sleep, you watched TV in the living room to kill time. You wanted to talk to Dojima about the case of his wife. As you looked at the floating balloons, you were surprised. Because of the light, you could see through them. It turned out your balloon had something in it. You decided to use a sharp object to blow it off. The balloon popped revealing a small note:

"Revenge"


	4. Feel The Pain

****Author: Thank you for accompanying with me! I am trying my best to update new chapters everyday. Please review so I know what can be done to improve the story's quality! Or just simply express how you feel about the plot so far. Your opinions are a HUGE motivation for me to continue this!****

 _ _Feel The Pain__

You temporarily stopped thinking about the small note gotten from your balloon when Dojima entered the door.

"How was your day at the amusement park? Did you end up in any trouble?"

He definitely loved his job when he asked you the second question. You answered them in a right manner. It seemed your uncle had already eaten dinner with co-workers. You decided to wait until he finished his shower, then talked to him.

…

"Why do you want to talk about that?"

Dojima surely did not want to share you his thought about his wife's case. But you trusted your expression could work it out. You tried to show him how much you care for him as a family member. You also pointed out what Nanako said about his recent behavior with some of your own thought. The man was certainly less irritated when you mentioned his daughter. However, he did not give you a satisfied answer. "Yes, I have found out who did that" was all his reply. When you went further and asked whether he had done anything after that, he remained silent. Your uncle was clearly deep in his thought at the moment.

"What I am going to do or have done is adult's business. You stay out of this."

After a while, he spoke. You intended to end this tense conversation when Dojima suddenly asked:

"Have you met Adachi yet?"

You nodded. Dojima gave you a complicated look. Adachi and your uncle were still partners not long ago, and now Adachi was a criminal. Your uncle must have felt very uneasy. You had not told him that Nanako's accident was also part of his subordinate' s fault. Their relationship must have been bad enough. You decided to go upstairs to sleep instead of staying for a little longer. That was why you missed your uncle's final expression.

Nanako asked you where your balloon was the next morning. You lied to her that it suddenly blew off. She looked somewhat proud of her balloon for lasting longer although she had tried her best to act like an adult. Your sister was so adorable that you could not hide your smile at that time.

You had lunch with Kou and Daisuke. They both wanted you to hang out with their sport team on Tuesday, which was tomorrow. Kou seemed to be more confident with himself compared to the past. You were truly happy for your friend although you did not show your emotion. After school, you worked as a caretaker. Mrs. Minami, the step mother of a boy in the day care, was glad to see you. Her relationship with her husband's child was getting better and better everyday. You congratulated her. You spent time talking with her while watching the children play until the evening. Then, you bought some snacks and groceries for dinner on the way home. Only a little bit more before you reached Dojima's resident. However, you suddenly chose to take a longer path to go home today. Your shift ended earlier than usual because of a kid's birthday. She asked the whole group, including you and another caretaker, to join. You accepted the invitation but decided to leave soon to cook dinner. You went across a dark alley. That was when you heard a very loud shout:

"Punch that scumbag real hard! Bastard deserves it in any way!"

There was another voice interrupted. "We should only attack some particular spot. It would be bad if people saw his bruises. He might accuse us later on. Well, nobody is going to believe a mad man anyway."

Following the talks were laugh and continuous heavy hitting sound.

"What's wrong with this guy? Yell in pain or something? There is no point if the bastard does not acknowledge our "gift"!". The first speaker seemed to be furious.

"The police is coming!". You decided to use the old trick that helped Chie last time. The attackers were surely frightened. They did not even spent time figuring out who had told them. Hiding behind a lamppost, you saw three young men running out of the alley. You came to help the injured man, only to see Adachi lying on the ground. He was clenching his teeth tightly in order to prevent his whimper to come out. His eyes still shut, so he did not recognize there was still a person standing right in front of him. However, the man knew the previous voice belonged to whom.

"So you saw…. It must have been a really great scene, huh?" He assumed you were near. He was right.

You did not answer. Just as the other young man said, except for his dirty clothes, there was definitely nothing wrong with his outlook at first glance. But now you knew where Adachi was in pain. His shaking hands were covering his stomach. There were also foot prints on his arms and legs, which were also covered by his dark suit. You intended to give him a hand when he stood up, just to received scornful eyes in exchange.

"I do not need your help, Yu-kun. Never will."

He spitted some blood after saying so. The man was about to wiped his mouth by hand when he saw his white wristband out of his black vest. It was one of a few parts that still looked clean. He decided not to dirty it by any chance. You observed his action and offered him a tissue. Adachi did not show any sign of appreciation, but took it anyway. You would be surprised if he said thanks though.

"There goes my last clean suit". The guy sighed annoyingly. "Then again, I am certain that their fists were nothing compared to Dojima-san's. My body is hard as rock thanks to the fact that he punched me all the time!"

As Dojima's name reminded him some old memories, Adachi made a panic face usually used when he screwed his job. His current reaction sent him back to when he still played as an innocent dork. You could not help but wish that this was his true personality. The question nearly escaped your mouth when the former policeman continued his conversation:

"The tallest whiny brat of the three is their leader. Dojima and I used to solve a case that cause his father's useless life in prison. Since I am Mr. Nobody now, the jerk calls up his gang to do what they call "serving justice". Not that I would give a sh*t. There, I give you the answer…".

"Do they often do these things to you?". You were actually worried for this old friend.

"Huh? Oh, not at all!".

You could have sworn the man almost fainted a few seconds ago. He managed to pull his conscious back and reply. You knew Adachi would not let you help him, so all you could do is talking to keep him awake while the guy was walking his way home. And his house was definitely not near Dojima's.


	5. What They Really Want

****Author: I am so happy to know some of you actually like my story! Great support, you guys. My thought is starting to have the right flow for this story, so… hope you still stick with it? \\(6o6)\ *laugh awkwardly*. As always, I'm looking forward to receiving some helpful reviews!****

 _ _What They Really Want__

"They are my so-called rare customer."

What did he mean by saying that? You figured out pretty early as he continued.

"I have a punch of haters, you know? And they all want to be heroes who can kick the bad guy's ass. I play a very important role, don't you think?"

There were still some people on the street. They obviously thought you were standing next to a drunk because of his groggy walking style. Well, he was surely not in his mental state. Adachi's blabbing more than he usually did was a sign. You were the only one knowing his terrible injuries. His feet were getting heavier each step, but the man still refused your help.

"Go home, kiddo. I do not need the leader of the Investigation team to escort me."

"You should tell Dojima-san about this…".

"Do not underestimate your goofy uncle, Yu-kun!", Adachi snapped you. "As his former partner, I should know what he enjoys doing. And that is pretending to be stupid!"

You came to a conclusion that his uncle knew about Adachi's problem. But in your opinion, Dojima was not the type of person who would ignore his friends' s misery.

"If you are wondering about your favorite uncle's action towards my issue…", the man grinned, but his eyes were dreary. "Trust me, your uncle only wants to be a good dad."

You did not know whether Adachi actually liked your uncle. However, they had spent quite a long time being partners. Besides Dojima, Adachi would hardly confide his trouble to anyone. The man was socially awkward. Plus, his clumsiness did not make many good impressions on his co-workers. Those were your uncle's comments on the guy. Still, Dojima did not push his partner away despite bullying him all the time. You clearly saw a good bond between them before the incident. You could not believe that their situation had gone so awfully down.

"You should go to the hospital."

"If I go to the hospital every day, I won't have enough money to pay the bill. Life does not let people do whatever they want, go whenever they like! Well, except for you".

In the end, both of you stopped at Adachi's house. You wanted to enter, but he did not allow you to.

"No, no, no, kiddo! I do not want you to discover out more evidence to throw me back into the prison for another crime".

The guy said sarcastically. Obviously, there was not enough trust between you two. You decided to head home, since it was late already. You did not have to go inside to know what he would eat tonight.

You slept early, so you were completely healthy the next day. You had promised to play with the sport members. Both Daisuke and Kou wanted you to play on their teams. Since your relationship with Kou was a little bit better, you decided to spend your time with the basketball players. Daisuke was slightly disappointed, but his feeling did not last long. He joined Kou and you after finishing his practice eventually. The three of you went to Chinese Dinner Aiya for ramen after school. When you reached home, it was already dark outside.

…

"Dude! Have you bought instant noodles for us yet?". Yosuke was extremely panic. "I completely forgot!"

You nodded, not noticing that the other guy could not see your reaction.

"I know your bento is great, bro. But it will not be sufficient. Besides, we might have to try the girls' food again…".

A sudden goosebumps ran through your spine. Your school organized a two- day camping trip tomorrow. You would rather not make a same mistake like last year. However, the fate of tasting the girl's meal would be inevitable. All you could do right now was to pray that they had improved their skills, which would be unlikely.

"Have you watched the Midnight Channel recently?". The light rain outside brought up your worry.

A small gap on the other side of the phone before Yosuke replied curtly.

"No".

Then he immediately fixed his rudeness. Your best friend certainly did not want to upset you.

"Look, bro. We have caught the murder, or at least, uh… the guy has promised not to break the rules. The Midnight Channel's main purpose is to show how people think about one individual. Even if there is a person on TV right now, he… or she will be fine! Physically…."

Yosuke was a very bad liar. You knew Yosuke was lying when he said he did not watch the Midnight Channel. After Saki's death, he had been dead serious about finding the victims. Yosuke was always the one calling you first whenever the team watched the channel together on rainy days. Even after the case was solved, your partner's obsession would not fade easily. He had put a lot of effort playing the hero to save humanity. "They all want to be heroes who can kick the bad guy's ass", you remembered what Adachi told you earlier.

There came a question. What was the hero's main job? Saving people, or defeating bad guys? Would the heroes ever refuse their duty of saving a victim if that victim was the antagonist of the story? Especially after he had hurt their precious ones? Maybe. Maybe not. One thing you did know: reality was not so dreamy. People rarely gave mercy for those who had done terrible things. Therefore, you sympathized with Yosuke's thought. You presented for Hope. But you used to be in Yosuke's state when Adachi caused Nanako to stay in the hospital, too. At that time, when you figured out the murder's identity (assuming Adachi was the mastermind), you were completely blind by anger. That time when you tried to act tough and talked to Adachi alone as friends inside the TV, you were actually filled with rage inside. That might be the reason you could not persuade Adachi to stop his action. Nobody was perfect after all. You had won the battle, but you somehow felt empty. Fortunately, you were calm enough not to kill the guy. Otherwise, his death would haunt the team forever.

During that time, you did not spend time thinking properly. During that time, you only had one desire. And that was Revenge.

You looked at the small note that had the word "Revenge" on the table in your room. Was that what he meant?

A sound of shattered pieces echoed in your head. You checked your social link just to be completely surprised. The Judgment arcana had leveled up to level two. You did not even realize when you had obtained level one or how this social linked returned back to zero. It seemed your process had developed to reach out for the new truth. You assumed that the truth last time led you to discover Izanami's intention. You wondered what event would occur this time.

"Dude…. Hey! Are you still there?". You almost dropped your phone when Yosuke raised his voice. "Gosh... I thought something happened when you suddenly stopped talking. Not that you are a talkative guy anyway…. Sheesh! You always make me worried". Yosuke sighed.

You almost forgot that you were still talking to Yosuke on the phone. You apologized for making your friend worried.

"Let's talk more tomorrow, okay? I am tired already."

You agreed.

"See you at school, leader. 7 o'clock. Don't be late!" Your friend kindly reminded you, then hanged up.

It was currently eleven and a half. You already made your bento for tomorrow. However, a sudden concern raising in your mind make you decide to make an extra amount of food. It seemed you would have to wake up even earlier than the Yasogami camping students.


	6. Hello Me To Yu

****Author: New chapter arrives! Once again, hope you guys enjoy and please review! Your opinions are crucial to me! *remain calm but scream internally*.****

 _ _Hello Me To Yu (You)__

"Knock, knock!"

It was 6 o'clock when you arrived at Adachi's house. The heavy rain did not make you feel comfortable at all although you had put on a rain coat. The doorbell was terribly damage, on purpose. You also noticed some cracks behind it. Somebody must have had enough of ringing sound. You knocked the door again, doubting that he would go anywhere early after losing his job. No one answered. After waiting for more than thirty minutes, you decided that it was time to go. You hanged the plastic bag with your prepared food on the door knob.

"Adachi-san, I have got some food for you! I will come back after two days!". You tried your best to shout lot of words, which was kinda out of character.

"Shuddap! Let people get some sleep over here!". You heard a high-pitched woman voice across the street.

You left the house. When you were about to turn right at the intersection, you turned around to look at the house one more time. Through a dense raining layer, you could hardly see anything. But you believed the door was slightly opened.

It was not a perfect day for a camping trip. The rain did not stop until midnight. Therefore, activities were limited. But those were only fun activities. You still had to do community services while it was raining.

"Great! I thought last camping trip was already the worst!", Yosuke complained while picking up trash.

"Oh my… you guys would not believe what I have found…", Chie exclaimed. There was a diaper on her hand. Even with mud, you knew it was already used.

"Ew…", Yosuke frowned. "That's nasty! Why can't people clean up their own mess! I am so jealous of Kanji right now". Kanji cut his hand really bad while holding a broken empty glass bottle. He was allowed to rest early.

"Just finish this quick, then we can eat soon". Naoto was definitely the most serious person in the group. This was already her fifth trash bag (each student had to had at least five bags). The whole group agreed.

"Cockroach!", Yukiko suddenly yelled.

Everyone, including other students near them, immediately raised their guard.

"Wh-Where is it, Yukiko-senpai?", Rise's face had turned green.

"I-I do not know. I just saw it on that tree a few sec…". Yukiko turned around to face you and suddenly became silent.

The group's atmosphere also sank. You had a very bad feeling about this. Something was moving on your left shoulder.

…

"P-Partner", Yosuke stepped slowly towards you first with a wet old newspaper. "I-I'm with you, man!"

Your face remained blank. Only you knew how much you appreciated your bro. As Yosuke raised the newspaper, you closed your eyes and accepted your fate. Your shoulder suddenly felt lighter. Then, the girls started screaming:

"Aaaaah! It's flying!". Said Rise in panic.

"Yosuke, Yu-kun! Be our hero!". Said all the girls.

The next thing you knew, you and Yosuke (and the cockroach) were pushed and fell into a drain. At least King Moron was not here to v…

"Oh man, I swear someone just vomited there few minutes ago."

…

"Worst day ever!". Your bro shouted next to you.

Lunch time finally came. Kanji looked at Yosuke and you, questioning.

"History has repeated itself, I tell you". Your friend got one sentence to say, then headed to the changing room. You followed him after telling Kanji what happened. Fortunately, this camping trip did not require self-cooking at lunch due to the limit of time. However, you were not entirely safe yet. At least the lower-classmates ate in a different place (by that you meant Rise).

"Guys". Yukiko brought you her bento. "Can you tell me how much I have… improved?"

She incredibly blushed right now. You opened the bento and saw an unidentified mixture with rice. At least the colors were less dark compared to last time. You looked at the food, then looked at her "I will be very sad if you do not eat" face. Yosuke clearly gave you a "not to eat" sign. As a gentleman, it seemed you had no choice but to eat it.

As soon as the food touched your tongue, your vision faded away. You could hear your friend called you.

"Partner!"

…

Thanks to you, Yosuke did not have to eat the food. You also brought enough food for three men that night (Kanji sneaked into your tent, again). At least you did not starve. It was an improvement for sure. That night, you became the hero of the Investigation men. Lying on the ground, the heavy rain slowly lulled you to sleep.

You had a dream. A young man appeared in front of you. He had gray hair, same as you. You could not see him clearly in the dark.

"Hello, Yu-kun. Meet Yu-kun". The man said.

"Do you know the truth?". You asked.

…

"Which truths are you currently seeking?"

You hesitated.

"I am not sur…"

"What do you want, really?"

…

"Do you care about your friends?". He asked another question.

"Yes"

"Your family?"

"Yes"

"Heh…". He seemed to be fascinated.

"What about Adachi-san?"

…

"Yeah…"

"LIAR!". The man immediately snapped you. "You cannot care about everything and everyone! Nobody is perfect. In fact…". He glared at you fiercely. "You did NOT care about ANYONE! Even Nanako-chan."

"What do you mean?". You knew everyone's situation. You sympathized with their thoughts. You loved everyone and everyone loved you.

"Why did you choose to come back to Inaba, huh? Was it because of your doubt about Adachi-san?". Yes. "But was it about Adachi-san?". Y…. "No!"

The man laughed while you were still confused.

"It's not that complicated, Yu-kun. You do notice others' single details. It's just that your motivation does not come from your heart. It comes from your brain. It is pure curiosity. But that what makes you a good detective after all. Have to have a cool head, you know? Except for the time you rescued Nanako…."

"I DO care when my friends are suffered! Or when they are sad!" You yelled back.

"Oh no, no, no. That concern is not yours". The other Yu looked at you pitifully. "You are a lucky kid, Yu. The chosen one. And that comes with a price". He stated.

What did he mean?

"Why do you have more than one Persona, YU?"

What?

"You think Adachi-san is the ONLY puppet master?"

Huh?

"Think again. What is your final goal this time?"

…

"Come again when you figure it out, Yu."

As you fell into darkness, your head repeated a saying from someone you temporarily forgot.

"They all want to be heroes…"


End file.
